What we're doing now

We are one of the partners in the Manchester Cancer Research Centre, which brings together world-class research into cancer biology, drug discovery and clinical trials on a single site.

Our research in Manchester focuses on some hard-to-treat cancers, such as pancreatic and lung cancer. For example, Dr Claus Jorgensen is investigating how pancreatic cancer cells communicate with the healthy cells around them. And as a Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, Manchester is at the heart of research that will revolutionise our understanding of this disease.

As lung cancer grows and develops, bits of the tumour can break off and float around in the bloodstream. Our scientists in Manchester are developing techniques to collect and analyse these 'circulating tumour cells' from the blood of individual patients, as they believe they can reveal vital clues about how to treat their disease. Our TRACERx trial is tracking how tumours evolve while patients receive treatment, and we’re also investigating how best to combine radiotherapy and chemotherapy to treat the disease.

We’re also dedicated to developing new, kinder cancer treatments with fewer side effects. Professor Tim Illidge is particularly interested in the use of immunotherapies, which are treatments that harness the power of the body's own immune system to fight cancer.

Meanwhile, we want to make imaging an even more important part of cancer care. Dr James O'Connor is developing techniques that will help doctors monitor different areas of tumours during treatment. This will help them quickly decide if treatment needs to be fine-tuned or switched, so that patients receive care that is tailored to them.

Dr Esther Baena is a new Junior Group Leader at our Manchester Institute. Her research is helping us to beat prostate cancer sooner by investigating how tumour cells grow and become resistant to treatment.

How we've made a difference so far

Many people with cancer receive radiotherapy as a treatment. In the 1930s, our researchers in Manchester developed a way to deliver a consistent and evenly distributed dose of radiation to a tumour. This pioneering method dominated the radiotherapy field for the next 50 years, and helped save many hundreds of thousands of lives.

The Director of our Manchester Institute is Professor Richard Marais. He recently discovered a brand new family of drugs that could treat incurable skin cancers. His research team have also uncovered new information about the rare form of melanoma that killed Bob Marley.

We established that a simple protein test can improve prediction of survival rates for patients with head and neck cancer. This could help doctors choose more appropriate, tailored treatments.

Help us beat cancer sooner

We receive no government funding for our research. Our life-saving work relies on the money you give us.

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Cancer Research UK is a registered charity in England and Wales (1089464), Scotland (SC041666) and the Isle of Man (1103). A company limited by guarantee. Registered company in England and Wales (4325234) and the Isle of Man (5713F). Registered address: Angel Building, 407 St John Street, London EC1V 4AD.